The speaker grapples with body image, religion, teenage rebellion, even self-harm, and yet the poem is delicate and honest. And hope-filled.

April Wang is a senior at Beckman High School in Irvine, California. She has been influenced by the quiet rain of Irvine, the chatter of Shanghai pollution, and the rolling cornfields of Illinois. You can find her work online, in print, and scrawled on loose leaf paper.